Ottawa water pH

[tuvok]

Hello all:
It really is interesting how educational this hobby can be (lots of memories of general science class have been triggered). I recently got an Aquarium Pharmeceuticals test kit in anticipation of cycling my 5.5g tank. Although I am still looking for a reliable/safe source of ammonia and have not begun to cycle I did decide to test the pH and found that my tap water that had been sitting for about 4 days or so had a pH of 8-8.2 (my color matching skills leave a bit to be desired). Is this typical for Ottawa tapwater?

While I know of at least one aquarist that uses additives to get his water pH to around 7 I was wondering if this is really necessary. I guess the type of fish you intend to keep would affect this decision, however, my intent is to keep only a limited variety of species such as platys, zebra/leopard danios, white clouds and bettas (the 5.5g tank is only intended for a single betta -- the other fish would go in something bigger).

Thanks in advance for any feedback provided.

[BigDaddy]

My water out of the tap in downtown Hull is 7.1 fresh out of the faucet.  I haven't bothered testing it after it has aged yet.

[artw]

tuvok in my area of Ottawa it comes out around 8.5-8.6 and then goes down to around 7.6 after a day or 2.